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Kenya had made her Olympics debut in 1956 in Australia, but it was on the Japanese national stadium track eight years later that a 26-year-old Kiprugut was hoping to give the country its first Olympics medal as an independent republic.

However, his race didn’t go according to plan. “A Jamaican athlete (George Kerr) kept pushing me to go in front,” he illustrates animatedly.

“Eventually, I lost balance and fell.”

The Kenyan recovered from the stumble and settled for a bronze in the 880 yards, now known as the 800m, behind Kiwi legend Peter Snell and Canada’s William Crothers.

It was a medal that opened the floodgates for Kenya’s track dominance in succeeding Summer Games.

Despite the Olympics postponement, Kiprugut remains optimistic the 800m world record set by David Rudisha — son of Kiprugut’s former training partner the late Daniel Rudisha — will remain in Kenya.

It was good to see Rudisha Jr follow in the footsteps of his father, hopefully the gold stays (in Kenya),” the father of nine anticipates.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the sports industry hardest. Despite this being the first time the Olympics have been delayed in their 124-year modern era history, they were cancelled in 1916, 1940 and 1944 due to the first and second World Wars.

Nonetheless, a new generation will return to Japan next year, almost 60 years since Kenya took part in the first Tokyo Olympics, seeking to continue the glory.